Free Web NovelChapter 28: The Final Signal
Cole looked at Marcus.
In that moment, he almost no longer saw a soldier protecting Safe Zone No. 7.
He only saw someone using the two words "public opinion" to conceal his own coldness and cowardice.
Marcus remained calm.
He placed his hand on the tablet, pulled up a few more articles whose heat kept rising, then said coldly: "If Aurora Academy and the Defense Legion keep consuming resources to locate Ethan now, these articles will immediately shift direction. The people will ask why the military is wasting energy crystals on a controversial student. Other Awakened will ask why their training resources are being cut to rescue someone who hasn’t proven his value. Other families will ask why Ethan Ashford is prioritized over their own children. Do you want Aurora Academy and the military both pushed onto the crest of the storm?"
Cole gritted his teeth. "A person’s life shouldn’t be decided by a few trashy headlines."
Marcus replied coldly: "A person’s life also can’t be greater than the stability of an entire safe zone."
Cole asked: "You call this stability?"
Marcus replied: "I call it reality."
Cole looked straight at Marcus. "Your reality is abandoning an outstanding student to die in the Anomalous Coordinates just because social media is cursing him?"
Marcus replied: "My reality is not gambling the military’s honor, the academy’s reputation, and strategic resources for an unconfirmed factor."
Cole said coldly: "Ethan isn’t an unconfirmed factor. I know what kind of person he is."
Marcus tilted his head slightly. "You know?"
Cole said in a grave voice: "Yes. I know a student who was top of the year in theory under conditions worse than most. I know he had to work at night to pay his own tuition. I know he was abandoned by the Ashford family, oppressed by his stepmother and brother to the point he could barely breathe, yet never used that as a reason to decline. I know a person like that wouldn’t be the kind of monster they’re building up online."
In the control room, a few staff lowered their heads.
They had all seen Ethan’s records.
They knew Cole wasn’t wrong.
Ethan Ashford wasn’t a flawless person.
But he was absolutely not the kind of person in those articles.
Marcus was silent for a brief moment.
Then, he shook his head.
Marcus said: "Headmaster Cole, you’re still too idealistic."
Cole looked at him.
Marcus continued: "The truth lies in the records. But emotion lies online. The people won’t read academy records hundreds of pages long. They’ll only watch the video of Selene crying. They’ll only hear Ryan say he’s afraid of his brother’s revenge. They’ll only see Claire trembling before the camera. Then, they’ll believe themselves to be righteous."
He reached out to take the tablet back.
Marcus said: "You can’t win against that."
Cole slowly said: "So you intend to go along with it?"
Marcus replied: "I intend not to let the military get swept up in it."
The gray-haired woman was so angry she let out a laugh. "Put plainly, you’re afraid of responsibility."
Marcus’s gaze turned cold.
He gave her one look, but didn’t refute it.
Because to a certain degree, that was also the truth. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Cole understood.
He looked at Marcus with a gaze of utter disappointment.
Cole said: "It’s not that you don’t know Ethan has value. You just don’t want to bear the risk if the rescue fails."
Marcus calmly replied: "A commander isn’t allowed to decide with emotion."
Cole said: "A commander also isn’t allowed to call cowardice reason."
The expressions of the six soldiers behind Marcus immediately changed.
But Marcus only raised his hand, stopping them from acting.
He looked at Cole for a long while.
Then, his voice turned colder.
Marcus said: "I won’t argue with you any further. From now on, I will supervise the entire process of severing contact with Ethan Ashford. Aurora Academy is not to continue using the positioning array, the backup crystal stores, or any transmission line to support him. After that, the academy will announce externally that Ethan Ashford has gone missing in the Anomalous Coordinates. No confirmation of death. No confirmation of rescue. Just missing."
Cole looked at him.
In that moment, the old headmaster suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Before this, he had still been thinking of other options.
If the military wouldn’t help, he could use his personal assets.
If the academy’s energy stores were under pressure, he could take responsibility himself.
If a political price needed to be paid, he could accept it.
As long as he could keep that weak connection line, as long as he could let Ethan find a stable set of coordinates, he still had a chance to send a portion of supplies into the Anomalous Coordinates.
A box of energy crystals.
A vial of recovery medicine.
A temporary positioning device.
Anything would do.
But Marcus wanted to supervise the entire severing process.
That meant every avenue of retreat was blocked.
Not only would the military not help.
Even Cole wasn’t allowed to rescue his own student.
This was no longer refusing aid.
This was severing the last chance at survival.
Cole slowly asked: "And if it’s later proven Ethan is innocent?"
Marcus replied very quickly.
"Then a shame."
Two words.
Composed.
Cold.
Without a trace of remorse.
In the control room, a few people immediately clenched their hands.
Cole looked at Marcus for a long while.
Then, he let out a faint laugh.
That laugh held no joy.
Only disappointment.
Cole said: "Marcus Vane, I once thought you were just a person who was too rigid."
He raised his eyes.
His gaze was old but sharp as a knife.
"Now I know, you’re even more cowardly than I imagined."
Marcus’s expression turned completely cold.
He didn’t keep arguing.
He only turned to the technical supervisor.
Marcus ordered: "Cut the contact."
The technical supervisor stood still.
His forehead was covered in sweat.
He looked at Cole, then looked at the six energy rifle muzzles pointed at the headmaster.
Marcus repeated: "I said, cut the contact."
The technical supervisor clenched his teeth.
His hand trembled as he placed it on the control panel.
On the central screen, the blue dot of light representing Ethan was still blinking very weakly.
Very small.
But still existing.
Still alive.
The technical supervisor closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then, he touched the disconnect command.
[Preparing to sever the transmission line.]
[Severing the positioning connection will cause the target to lose all support from Aurora Academy.]
[Confirm?]
The room was so quiet you could hear breathing.
Marcus said coldly: "Confirm."
Cole looked at that dot of light.
The hand gripping the cane clenched so tight the knuckles turned white.
But he couldn’t act.
Couldn’t destroy the control room.
Couldn’t take the lives of soldiers carrying out orders.
Even less could he, for the sake of his own anger, make Ethan’s last bit of signal vanish in the chaos.
The technical supervisor trembled.
In the end, he still pressed down.
[Confirm.]
The blue light on the central screen began to fade.
The weak transmission line connecting Aurora Academy and the Anomalous Coordinates was cut layer by layer.
One layer.
Two layers.
Three layers.
The dot of light representing Ethan trembled faintly, like a small lamp about to go out in the middle of a storm.
Cole looked at it.
A pain hard to conceal appeared in his eyes.
"Ethan..."
He said it very softly.
No one answered.
On the screen, the final line of text appeared.
[Contact has been severed.]
[Target status: Unable to confirm.]
Marcus put away the tablet and turned to leave.
Before stepping out of the control room, he paused for half a second and said coldly: "Prepare the announcement. Ethan Ashford has gone missing in the Anomalous Coordinates. Aurora Academy attempted a rescue but failed due to unstable space. No mention of continued support."
The control room door opened.
Marcus Vane led the six soldiers away.
No one in the room spoke up right away.
It was a long while before the gray-haired woman said hoarsely: "Headmaster..."
Cole still stood motionless.
He looked at the screen that had gone dark.
Then, slowly closed his eyes.
In that moment, the old headmaster no longer resembled a powerhouse standing at the head of Aurora Academy.
He only resembled a teacher who had just watched his student be abandoned by the entire world with his own eyes.
But very quickly, Cole opened his eyes.
His gaze was no longer despairing.
Only cold.
Cole said: "Save all the data."
The gray-haired woman froze.
Cole continued, his voice very low but clear: "Every video of Selene, Ryan, Claire. Every article slandering Ethan. Every order Marcus Vane gave in the control room. Not a single segment is to be lost."
The gray-haired woman immediately understood his meaning.
She slowly nodded.
"I’ll do it right away."
Cole looked at the pitch-black screen.
A long while later, he said: "If Ethan dies, I’ll make these people pay the price."
He paused.
His gaze grew even deeper.
"And if he comes back alive..."
Cole didn’t finish.
But in the control room, no one felt that line needed to be finished.
Because they all understood.
If Ethan Ashford truly survived and returned from the Anomalous Coordinates after having all aid severed, that day would not only be the day a genius returned.
It would be the day a great many people had to bow their heads.
